A/N: This was written for the remix challenge for the kuroxfai community at LiveJournal. My assigned author was yoshikochan and the story I selected to remix was Warmth in the Cold Winter. It can be found on the kuroxfai-pop community, but in order to read it, you have to be a member of the community. The basic concept goes like this: "Kurogane is surprised that Fai, out of all people, is able to find so much warmth and happiness in the cold season." I took that concept, concocted this AU, threw the pair in it, AND also made them both female. Therefore, this is a gender flip story, and I am/have doing my best to keep them in character as I see fit.

"But it is precisely the loss of connection with the past, our up-rootedness, which has given rise to the 'discontents' of civilization and to such a flurry and haste that we live more in the future and its chimerical promises of a golden age than in the present, with which our evolutionary background has not yet caught up."
- Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

For as long as anyone could remember, for as far as the eyes could see and the souls could feel, the world thrived on the harmonic balance between the people and nature. But to say that this connection between human and the elements was simple and primitive was far from the truth.

It was more than the usual case where humans respected and relied on nature for its bountiful resources to sustain their existences and keep their populations flourishing. The forces of the elements also depended on the life forces of the people, their beating hearts and living souls to preserve their own sanctity and to keep the order of their cycles as seasons come and go and the process of erosion, desertification and so forth occurred over centuries, even millenniums. What started as a cluster of people in an ideal, singular location soon led to the formation of several factions - kingdoms to be precise - where each governed over a particular element and thus established unique bonds with their affixed force of nature. One side of the coin cannot exist without the other, and it was because of this intricate and tightly formed connection that it was essential that this fine and delicate balance between the two should never be disrupted, lest catastrophes and mass casualties strike and cause a large and permanent shift in the ways of the world. But in the end, if one side of the equation had to be selected as the more fragile and susceptible to losses, it would have to be the humans.

And it was precisely why the advent and rise of civilization that was shaking the core and heart of the ways of the world relied on warfare.

To turn humans against each other in large, bloody struggles in those times was a new concept, but one that would produce devastating consequences. Soon, one idea would lead to another, injecting their poisons into the hearts and minds of once innocent individuals that convinced them that perhaps there was something far better beyond the scopes of their bonded lives and allegiances with nature. Lives were quickly lost in the brutal bloodshed that was sweeping across the many kingdoms from the outsiders and betrayers, tarnishing the sacredness of the balance between humans and nature. For many, their fates and outcomes were either death at the hands of others or risk their lives and flee forever from their crumbling homelands to find refuge in another safe kingdom or an outside province that had outright declared neutrality in times of the worldly affairs.

Irregardless, the mass casualties and desolation brought upon the destruction and destitution of many kingdoms throughout the world. For the rich earth spoiled and the plants shriveled in the Kingdom of Terra and the bountiful water turned murky and lecherous and flooded the Kingdom of Aqua and the rocks began to melt into a pile of burning, molten layers in the Kingdom of Ember. Destroy the precious harmony between humans and nature, rob the lands of the people they seek and thrive on and soon enough they perish and succumb to the worst of their natures. And if there were any sole survivors in the dead and corrupted lands, they would perish from the horrid conditions of their lands. Warfare, the very idea that humans could and would turn against another, was indeed a cruel tragedy.

And so in the end civilization became just as much the part of the new ways of the world, leaving behind the ruins of kingdoms and unspoken memories of the ancient and beloved connection. For many, they could only look to the future in the present ways of life. And yet in the new lands and provinces that are untouched by the marring leftovers of the rest of the world, there still resided survivors, yet the numbers of them are dwindling.

Yet even so, it ensured there may very well still be connections to the haunted souls of the past ways of life, connections to the fabric of harmonic balance between humans and nature.

Perhaps, even connections between elements…

It had been days, sizable ones - even months since Kurogane had left the Land of the Lotus Blossoms and her ordinary life of serving as a prolific general for the venerable Princess Tomoyo behind. The warrior had chosen to venture out into the greater confines of the world on her own, even without a horse to accompany her. Kurogane did not wish to have to be concerned for another life when she already knew she was going through great perils in order to go on her solo journey. The general was after all trekking through the regions and borders that housed the dead remains and marred ruins of the fallen kingdoms just as the winter season was beginning. In spite of the hostile and eerie atmosphere and the start of the cold weather, she was well equipped with the warmest clothing in her possession and her sharp dagger had proven to be a worthy weapon to bring along since she had to leave her sword behind.

The fact that she had barely encountered any other humans, let alone any living beings for that matter over the past few weeks ensured that there was fewer things for Kurogane to be hyper vigilant about. But at the same time, the stark loneliness she felt along the duration of her journey served as a cold reminder of the despair pervading this part of the world, and the frosty air along with the gray skies and falling snow only added to the overall gloom. Death marked its sign everywhere and she had been painfully reminded of that each and every time she had passed through a particular kingdom that she recognized not only from the map she was given, but also from the traces of nature that had been corrupted and left to wither away from the lack of human habitations. Winter and its seasonal attributions of the end of life only added to the overall somber mood. Kurogane wasn't the type to mull over things heedlessly, but nonetheless she couldn't help but feel depressed about the true state of the world outside of thriving provinces such as the Land of the Lotus Blossoms.

Pausing, Kurogane shielded her eyes with a hand as she quickly scanned the sky. For now it had stopped snowing and the sky was semi-clear so that she could see the sun accordingly. It was now just a bit past noon, she deducted, and so it meant she would have to strategically walk in a direction where she could find a good place to settle for the evening. Kurogane had been fortunate enough lately to stumble upon abandoned homes that were still standing well despite the years of abandonment and the restlessness of nature. Perhaps she would be able to find another one for tonight, but at the same time she did not keep her hopes up as there was still no guarantee.

Minutes soon easily turned into hours and the general became weary that she had fewer time to find an adequate shelter that would shield her from the cold wintery night. Yet Kurogane kept advancing through the rocky surfaces and occasionally shielded her face from the freezing gale with her thick cloak. It was starting to snow again at that moment, compounding the urgency to find a place. It was sheer wonder that Kurogane would head out on this journey when she and Princess Tomoyo was thoroughly aware that her trip could last to nearly half of a year and that meant spending the entire winter in the vast wilderness and, for the most part, inhospitable territories. Yet Kurogane was a fierce and determined woman and Princess Tomoyo was truly insightful and her judgment had been proved to be trusted and respected time after time. Even though this entire trip may prove to be the most dangerous thing she had ever taken upon herself, Kurogane was sure that she would see things through. A promise was a promise, she would always say and would always live by and sure enough it ensured she would see things through for that elusive purpose.

Just then, Kurogane spotted a thatched shack in the corner of her eyes. Seizing her blessed opportunity, the warrior carefully made her way towards it, thanking the almighty beings for her good fortune just like all of those other times.

The first think Kurogane did was to check the windows. However, since frosty mist was covering them, she quickly wiped them off with her thick gloves and peered inside. To her surprise, the place was not sparse and bare at all; on the contrary there was a thick rug on the hard, wooden floor and there was even a bed with a pile of quilted blankets at the ready. There was a fireplace that had obviously not been used in a while, but still there was a messy clump of ashes left on the pile of the floor. It was hard to make out if there were a variety of other necessities lying around the pockets of the small room, but nevertheless it was surprisingly neat and tidy considering all of the other abandoned homes Kurogane had to reside in for all of those past evenings. The general could not help but wonder if someone else actually lived around here, for there were no tell-tale signs that this place had been significantly abandoned for many years. However, there were clues that no one was presently residing here. For one, no food or other necessities were lying around so it could mean that this place had been vacant for a while. Kurogane continued checking for other signs that could still ultimately reveal that someone was still residing here, but after a few rounds of careful scanning she concluded that, indeed, no one was truly living here at the moment. With that done Kurogane walked over to the front door and wrestled with the door.

To her huge disappointment and slight alarm, the door was resoundingly locked. Frowning in concern, she tried wrestling with the doorknob again but to no avail the stubborn door would not budge. Not wanting to entirely give up yet, Kurogane stopped with that task and went searching the walls, hoping to find abandoned keys that was hiding somewhere in hopes of entering this shack. But after a few minutes of quick searching, it proved to be fruitless. She knew that nothing like a true, safe shelter was guaranteed and yet at the same time all of these signs were perplexing. There was nothing that showed that somebody had last resided here for the last month or so, but at the same time if the door was locked and no keys were in sight it meant this person had went away but planned to come back soon – if said person was still alive in these regions, that was. Sighing, Kurogane had no choice but to resume in search of a place to settle for the night. The day was getting even later as the sun was sinking down to show that it was now late mid-afternoon.

All of a sudden, the air became rapidly frigid and her air pipes constricted in sudden shock and response to such a dip in the climate. Kurogane fastened the scarf closer around her neck and shielded her entire face. So the snow was starting to accumulate a bit faster, which after all was to be expected in the thick of the cold season.

But if so, why was the wind increasingly getting stronger and why was the snow starting to fall down so fast that her range of vision was becoming so limited? For whatever reason, this was not good, and by the looks of it, Kurogane had found herself getting caught in the midst of an oncoming blizzard. There was no way that a slow, steady snowfall could become so fierce in just a few minutes. Sure, the areas of the fallen kingdoms had seen such disruptions in the flow of nature's cycles, but beyond the scope of that, blizzards like these had never occurred. Unless it meant that she had found herself in a completely new territory or, to be precise, a fallen kingdom.

In short, this place must be the Kingdom of Snow.

It had to be, because it would explain why the snow here was reacting extraordinarily chaotic. Now Kurogane was leaning back against the shack, completely taken aback by this new natural catastrophe she had certainly hoped not to run into. But if she didn't do anything she would freeze to death. Most people would give up and turn around to get away from the horrors of the blizzard. But Kurogane wasn't like most people.

There was no going back now, and she was determined to keep going onward. Because there was a reason she left the comfort and safety of her homeland behind. But the burning question that fueled her journey in the first place was whether she could even consider that land her home, not after her princess had finally revealed her true past. It was this same place that she had dreamed of that was calling for her, and she knew she was so close to reaching it.

Her true destination was the Kingdom of Ember.